How to “mew” and why you shouldn’t do it
Arroy (AJ) Jacob, Web Editor |
There is a secret to why celebrities look so perfect in their glam shots. The secret is (apparently) all in the tongue.
Social media users are accusing as many celebrities on the red carpet as possible for trying to shove the skin above their neck into the bottom of their chin. The easiest way they do so? Take the tongue, and push it against the roof of the mouth and the front two teeth. And suddenly, they have a picture perfect jawline for the paparazzi.
Welcome to the world of “mewing,” a “beautification” phenomenon that has recently reinvigorated social media platforms and their audiences alike. Take your tongue, and push it up and around the roof of your mouth and work the muscles under your jaw. People all across TikTok are doing it–shoving their tongues in unnatural positions when posing for their videos, like they’re real life photoshopping.
However, youth and young adults are taking mewing to another level. Mewing can quickly make one’s appearance more “appeasable” with a stronger jawline. But people have advocated for constantly mewing to physically shape their jawlines for good.
The controversy behind mewing has the hashtag, especially on TikTok, divided into two: people who stitch the hashtag pinning incredulous memes to the trend, and others, who take the real-life photoshopping a little too seriously.
Trends like these are subject to analysis, including an exploration into its history, the science, and the implications it may have on a social media society.
The history
According to WebMD, “mewing” was never a medical term. The theoretical concept originated from British orthodontist John Mew in the late 1970s, and then further propagated by his son, Michael Mew, and was “originally intended mostly for young children whose jaws are still growing.”
Mewing never actually intended beautification purposes. In fact, neither John nor Michael coined the term itself. “Mewing” only became popularized over social media when in reality, the Mews wished to help children prevent jaw development issues, as a result of evolutionarily smaller jaws in recent generations at the time.
Besides these simple facts, nothing else is known about the term. Without any other information, it’s difficult to determine the legitimacy of the concept, other than it being nothing more than impractical.
The science
As stated in Health.com, “no credible research proves mewing can permanently alter your jaw structure.” The only “respectable” organization that backs tongue placement notions is the Mews-founded London School of Facial Orthotropics. With their claims, they theorized that mewing can treat overbites, sinus issues, or even temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), a disorder that causes internal pain by an involuntary locking of the jaws.
There is no research, though, not even from the London School of Facial Orthotropics, that backs up these claims.
The only credible scientific research that relates to mewing are certain tongue exercises that can be used to treat sleep apnea, or teeth misalignment. But nothing at the moment is proven to physically chisel your skull.
If anything, professionals are actually proposing that there are more risks to mewing than there are (if any!) benefits. Health.com says that there is a risk of “mewers” developing a “misalignment of teeth, misalignment of upper and lower jaw, pain or dysfunction at the hinge of your jaw (TMJ pain), and loose or chipped teeth (from misalignment or pressure).”
The dangers
Knowing that the health sciences cannot reasonably back up claims of shaping a jawline (and potentially being worse for your body!) it makes a concept sound childish, and perhaps even outrageous.
Needless to say, it makes TikTokers look silly.
But there is an underlying issue behind the (typically young male) population who continue to perpetuate mewing as a legitimate method of beautification. In recent years, an influx of influencers entered the platforms and have since then monetized on content, videos, and online programs surrounding the topic, and promoting it.
Inherently, they are monetizing off of misinformation.
Content surrounding mewing has become a pipeline into the infamous incel (involuntary celibate) community: young men who blame their unsuccessful sexual endeavors on women and society. In fact, according to The New York Times, it was the incel community that coined the term “mewing” itself– which means that those who identify as an incel of adopted mewing in hopes of escaping their self-identified involuntary celibacy.
What’s terrifying is the prospect of children, and youth who are exposed to incel-influenced mewing content, and conditioned to believe that shaping their jawline will result in social acceptance, given that the teenage years is the prime age to have these thoughts. Futile tongue placement is not the solution to positive body image reinforcement for the younger generation. Mewing will not only lead to long term physical damage, but also corrupted body image representation that will only lead to new insecurities.
